William Hague (Shadow Foreign Secretary, Foreign Affairs; Richmond (Yorks), Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice to what extent consideration of the effect on commercial contracts for oil and gas were taken into account in negotiations between the Government and Libya on the prisoner transfer agreement signed in November 2008.

Jack Straw (Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Blackburn, Labour)

The prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Libya was one of four agreements in the field of judicial cooperation signed by the United Kingdom and Libya on 17 November 2008. Signature of these agreements is a tangible sign of the normalisation of the relationship between Libya and the United Kingdom and between Libya and the wider international community following its renunciation of international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

In negotiating the prisoner transfer agreement account was taken of the impact of the agreement across a range of issues, including trade. However, there was no deal between the UK and Libya to secure the transfer of any individual in return for commercial contracts, or otherwise.